Sick Mare

[Tam VanderWerf]

I came home from work yesterday afternoon to find our 12-year old buckskin mare, who is about 9 months in foal, laying down in the doorway of our barn. The rest of the mares were off grazing quite a distance away. I went to the barn and she got up and I put her in her stall for feeding. The other mares came in to eat and by the time I was done giving out feed, this mare way laying down in her stall. She didn't eat her feed, which by the way is Born to Win by Purina.

I took her up to the house and took her temperature, which was 102.3. I have her 3cc of Banamine and let her graze in the back yard for a few minutes. I put her in the stall under the camera, gave her a little alfalfa hay and left her alone for a while. She ate the alfalfa and I checked on her about 2 hours later and she had pooped twice.

I watcher her throughout the night on the camera and she seemed alright until about 4 this morning when I noticed her laying down again. Around 6 a.m. I got up to feed and took her temp, which was 103.6. Gave her 3cc of Banamine and left her in her stall and left for work since my husband would be home in about 30 minutes.

Dan came home and checked on her and found her laying down. He checked her temp and it was 102.3 after almost 3 hours since the shot of Banamine. He let her graze, checked her for gut sounds, watched her poop. In the mean time, I got ahold of the vet and we took her in at 11 a.m.

The vet gave her a thorough checking and drew blood to run some tests. Blood tests revealed that her white blood count was low. Vet said that high and/or low white blood count means infection. Only other thing unusual on blood panel was that her protein was low. Her physical exam was normal except her heart rate was around 70, probably because she was stressed from the ride and being bothered by the vet. Her temp was also normal.

Vet told us she probably had a virus and we are giving her SMZ's for 5 days as a precaution, plus Banamine to keep her fever down. We did all the doctoring tonight at feeding time. Vet also said to worm her, not that she looked wormy, but just as a precaution.

So I've been watching her on the camera this evening and she's laying down quite a bit. But the most peculiar thing is her rapid breathing. She's almost breathing as fast as a dog would pant. Her temp is 100.9. Her current heart rate is 65. Her condition me very concerned. I'm not able to get in touch with the vet yet.

Do any of you have any ideas what could be ailing this mare. I appreciate any imput. Thanks!

 

[wwminis]

[SIZE=12pt]Tam,[/SIZE]

She may be trying to abort!

Let's pray that she doesn't!

Bill

 

[maplegum]

Ohhh Tam, I don't have enough experience to know what could be going on but i just wanted to let you know that i am thinking of her.

Good luck

 

[laughingllama75]

I have no real idea either, but it does sounds like she might abort. I hope that is not the case, and I wish her well.

Alicia

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm sorry that I don't know what to tell you to do. You've done everything I would have thought of. Obviously something isn't right. Is there any specialist in your area that knows specifically about pregnant mares. I'm worried since she's so far along that she's either having a problem with the foal or whatever is wrong with her is going to cause a problem with the foal.

Is there anyway the vet can tell if the foal is still alive?

 

[kaykay]

keep an eye on hyperlipemia heres an article on it. sometimes pregnancy can cause this in mares but its especially important to watch for in minis that go off feed

Hyperlipemia in Miniature Horses

By Mary Boyce

Hyperlipemia is a syndrome characterized by negative energy balance and rapid mobilization of peripheral adipose tissue. Fatty acids infiltrate the liver and triglycerides accumulate in the plasma, resulting in elevated serum triglyceride levels and impaired hepatic function. Reduced feed intake or anorexia is usually the cause of hyperlipemia.

Hyperlipemia has been documented in miniature horses, miniature donkeys and ponies as both a primary disease process and a secondary complication of a primary systemic disease. Hyperlipemia in ponies is most frequently a primary disease associated with obesity, pregnancy, lactation, stress, and transportation. Secondarily, hyperlipemia may result from any systemic disease that produces a negative energy balance, such as enterocolitis, parasitism, gastric impaction, or colic. Clinical signs vary widely and are usually a reflection of the primary disease. The most common clinical signs are anorexia and lethargy, but weakness, ataxia, depression, diarrhea, jaundice, and ventral edema have also been noted. Prognosis for survival in miniature horses can be as low as 50% in some cases or as high as 78% in others. Because the majority of cases of hyperlipemia in miniature horses occur secondarily to primary systemic disease, the nature and severity of the primary disease is a major determinate of survival.

Most cases of hyperlipemia are associated with reduced food intake. During fasting, adipose tissue triglycerides are broken down by a hormone sensitive lipase to glycerol and free fatty acids. A significant portion of the fatty acids are taken up by the liver where they may be completely oxidized via the TCA cycle, used for ketone production, or reesterified to triglycerides. Triglycerides either accumulate in the liver or are released into the plasma as very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). In equids, triglyceride production is emphasized over ketone formation, therefore, lipemia rather than ketosis dominates the response to prolonged fasting (Naylor).

Lipoprotein lipase, also a hormone sensitive enzyme, is attached to the luminal side of capillary vessels in adipose, muscle, heart, and other tissues. Triglycerides in plasma VLDL are hydrolyzed to fatty acids and glycerol which are transported into peripheral tissues. Lipoprotein lipase activity in hyperlipemic ponies has been found to have twice the activity of nonlipemic ponies (Watson and Burns), so the excess serum triglyceride concentration in hyperlipemia appears to be the result of increased hepatic production rather than impaired function of lipoprotein lipase.

A prolonged increase of serum triglyceride concentration is associated with lipid accumulation in the liver, kidney, myocardium, and skeletal muscles, and this impairs the function of these organs. Postmortem examination of hyperlipemic miniature horses has revealed fatty infiltration of the liver and kidneys. These organs appear pale or swollen and are often greasy in texture. In severe cases of hyperlipemia, the liver is ruptured. Lipemic changes may also be seen in unclotted blood. Nearly all blood-clotting factors are formed by the liver, so disease of the liver can greatly depress the clotting system.

 

[Minimor]

My concern would be pneumonia; we had 3 mares with it in the summer of '05. All went off their feed to some extent, and they all had the elevated respiration--the one mare could be heard from quite a distance away & she did sound just like a dog panting. Horses can have pneumonia without any cough being present, and vets can listen to the horse's lungs and miss the sounds of pneumonia.

 

[Barbie]

[SIZE=14pt]Tam-[/SIZE]

Sure hope Spring had a good night - was glad to hear that at 9:30 she seemed to be doing a little better. Never a dull moment. Hope to hear good news from you in a little while.

Barbie

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Sending prayers and white light to help your sick mare.

 

[Sandy S.]

NONE OF OUR MARES ARE BRED FOR THIS YEAR, BUT WE HAVE JUST ABOUT THE SAME THING RUNNING THROUGH EVERYONE. SOME ARE ONLY OFF A LITTLE, SOME ARE OFF THEIR FEED FOR JUST MAYBE A DAY OR SO, AND THEN WE HAVE HAD 3 COME DOWN WITH IT HARD. VET THINKS IT IS VIRAL DUE TO ALL THE WEATHER CHANGES AND MUD EVERYWHERE AND HAD ME PICK UP AN ANTIBIOTIC THAT IS LIQUID SUSPENSION AND COVERS SEVERAL THINGS, SORRY CAN'T THINK OF THE NAME RIGHT NOW, TO GIVE TO THE WORSE ONES, SAID TO KEEP THEM ON IT FOR 6 DAYS. ONE MARE JUST NOW STARTED ACTING HERSELF AND IT IS NOW DAY 16 FOR HER. HERS JUST SEEMED TO HANG ON. THE OTHER TWO WE STARTED THE MEDICINE ON ARE DOING GREAT. WE ALSO GAVE PEDIALITE, GATORADE, RED CELL, AND SWITCHED HER FEED OFF AND ON TO ANYTHING SHE WOULD AT LEAST TAKE A BITE OF. HAD TO SYRINGE THE RED CELL AND PEDIALITE AND GATORADE INTO HER, BUT IT DID SEEM TO HELP TO REHYDRATE HER SOME. HOPE SHE STARTS FEELING BETTER AND DOESN'T ABORT THAT BABY. KEEP US POSTED.

 

[whitney]

Sandy S

Could you post what Antibotic worked for you? My vet put Tweet on Tribrissen, SMZ and she had a TERRIBLE reaction to it projectile diarrhea after day 4 of treatment. All my guys are doing much better but if they take a downward turn I would like to be able to give them an antibotic that works.

 

[Sandy S.]

I WILL TONIGHT, I AM AT WORK AND I CAN'T THINK OF THE NAME AT THE MOMENT. (WELL ACTUALLY AN AGE FORGETFUL MOMENT, HAVING QUITE A LOT OF THOSE LATELY)

WELL NEVER MIND, I JUST CALLED THE VET BECAUSE I WILL HAVE TO GET MORE JUST IN CASE SOMEONE ELSE COMES DOWN WITH IT, IT IS CALLED TMS WHICH IS SHORT FOR TRIMETHOPRIN.

HOPE THIS HELPS.

 

[MBhorses]

:no: WE WILL BE THINKING OF YOU AND YOUR MARE. I HOPE SHE GETS BETTER SOON. KEEP US POSTED.

MELISSA

 

[Barbie]

[SIZE=18pt]Hi all-[/SIZE]

I had an e-mail from Tam earlier today - she said Spring seems to be doing better. At this point no signs of aborting, thank God. I'm sure she'll be on here later wiith an update.

Barbie